Tuesday, 17 August 2010

Israel loses nothing by upholding Justice

Please take note that earlier High court had made an extremelyerroneous judgment in allowing the possibility of a rock thrown inkilling the girl, when the facts of the case was that there were nostone throwers in the streets that she was in.

Manu Jewish judges are still not fair enough when it comes to justicefor the Palestinians.

A Jerusalem court on Monday held the state responsible for killingkilling a 10-year-old Palestinian girl in January 2007.

In a civil suit, the court ruled that border guards had either beennegligent or disobeyed orders in shooting Abir Aramin with a rubberbullet, calling the incident 'totally unjustifiable'.Israeli soldiers stand guard as Palestinians protest in the West Bank

Israeli soldiers stand guard as Palestinians protest in the West Bankon May 9, 2010.Photo by: AP

The judge ruled ordered the government to pay damages to the girl'sfamily, with the exact amount to be determined later.

Aramin was killed while walking home from school in the West Bankvillage of Anata with her sister and two of her friends. They had justleft a shop where they had bought sweets when she was hit in the headby a rubber bullet.

She was taken to Mukassed Hospital in Jerusalem, where she waspronounced dead.

Police opened a criminal investigation but later decided againstindicting the border guards who opened fire.

Aramin's family and the human rights organization Yesh Din appealedthe decision in the High Court. But judges there ruled that since itwas possible the girl was killed by a rock thrown by rioters, therewas no basis for a criminal trial.

In Monday's civil ruling, Judge Orit Efal-Gabai dismissed thepossibility that Aramin had been struck by an errant stone,determining gunfire as the cause of death.

"There is no debate over the conclusion that Abir was injured by arubber bullet shot by border guards, which in turn leads to theconclusion that the shooting of Abir occurred out of negligence, or inviolation of the rules of engagement," Efal-Gabai said.

"We are not talking about injury by shots fired at a crowd of riotersand rock-throwers, near which a little girl just happened to bestanding,"she said.

"Abir and her friends were walking down a street where there were norock-throwers, therefore there was no reason to shoot in theirdirection. It is clear that Abir's death, caused by a rubber bulletshot by border guards, was due to negligence by the defendant."

Aramin's father is one of the founders of Combatants for Peace, agroup of former Israel Defense Forces soldiers and Palestinian gunmenthat tour schools to foster coexistence.